Machine for checking or verifying mechanical records



Jan. 28, 1930. R. FITZ POWER ET AL 1,744,796

MACHINE FOR CHECKING OR VERIFYING MECHANICAL RECORDS Filed Dec. 1'7. 192'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 28, 1930. R. FITZ POWER ET AL 1,744,796

I MACHINE FpR CHECKING OR VERIFYING MECHANICAL RECORDS Filed Dec. 17, 1927 4 sheets sheet 2 Jan. 28, 1930. I R. FITZ POWER ET AL 1,744,796

MACHINE FOR CHECKING OR VERIFYING MECHANICAL RECORDS Filed Deo; 1'7, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Jan. 28, 1930. R. Frrz POWER ET AL 1,744,796

MACHINE FOR CHECKING OR VERIFYING MECHANICAL RECORDS Filed Dec. 17, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 28, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RICHARD FITZ POWER, OF LONDON, AND ARTHUR T HOMAS, OF THORNTON HEATH, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO THE ACCOUNTING & TABULATING CORPORATION OF GREAT BRITAIN, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND MACHINE FOR CHECKING OR VEBIFYING MECHANICAL RECORDS Application filed December 17, 1927, Serial No. 240,916, and in Great Britain December 18, 1926.

The present invention relates to machines for checking or verifying mechanical records bearing indentations, perforations or the like for use in statistical machines.

The resent invention consists in a machine as indicated comprisin means for sensing the order of the records and for indicating an error in such order.

he invention also consists in a machine as indicated which stops or inserts a distinguishing record if the records do not follow a predetermined sequence.

The invention also consists in a machine which indicates if an item in a succeeding record does not agreewith or differs by more than a predetermined amount from an item in the preceding record.

The invention also consists in a machine as indicated which denotes a break in the sequence of the records if any chosen item in one column of a record is not the same as or differs by more than a predetermined amount from an item in the same or a different column of the preceding record.

The invention also consists in a machine as indicated which denotes if any chosen item in one column of a record is not the same as a predetermined item in a different column of the preceding record.

The invention finally consists in the improved machine for checking or verifying mechanical records hereinafter described or indicated.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one example of the invention as applied to the verifying of statistical cards having perforations therein, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the verifying machine;

igure 2 is a plan of Figure 1;

in Figures 1 to 3 is designed for veriffying cards which are required to have a per oration in one column corresponding to a certain figure which must be the same figure represented by aperforation in another column of the card immediately preceding it.

For instance, if an article being manufactured in the shops has a cost card for each department and if each card is punched in two columns with figures representing the department from which it has come and the department which the card represents; then if the cards are arran ed in the order in which the article went t rough the different departments, the figure in one column representing the department from which the article came will be the same as the figure.

in the other column of the preceding card. If, however, these two figures do not agree for any two adjacent cards the sequence of the cards is not in agreement with the order in which the article proceeded through the departments and it is evident that an error in recording has occurred.

On the frame of the machine, 100, is mounted a magazine, 101, for the statistical cards which are fed by means of the usual feed mechanism and rollers, 102, to a sensing pin box, 103, provided with an u per and lower plate, 104 and 105, having per orations therein corresponding to the number of possible perforations in one of the statistical cards. The sensing pin box is provided with two rows of pins, 106, which are reciprocated up and down by means of a connecting rod, 107, driven by means of an eccentric or other suitable arrangement mounted on the shaft, 108. The cards after being sensed in the pin box, 103, are passed by means of rollers, 109, to a receiving box, 110. Mounted on the frame, 100, is a magazine, 111, in which special coloured cards are placed and which is provided with a card feeding device, 112, operated by a lever, 113, the cards being fed into the receiving box, 110.

The two rows of sensing pins, 106 and 106 corresponding to two adjacent columns of perforations in the card, have preferably are connected to bell crank levers, 115,115, pivotally mounted upon a frame, 116, which slides horizontally upon any suitable guides provided on an extension of the frame, 100, so that the pins can be arranged to sense any two columns in the card. The frame, 116,'is provided with a shaft, 117 on which are mounted a number of discs, 118, there being one disc to each pair of pins, 106, 106'.

The shaft, 117, is driven by means of skew gears, 119, 120, which drive the hori-' zontal shaft, 121, on which is mounted a bevel gear, 122, engaging with another bevel, 123, fixed to the shaft, 117 the bevel gears, 122, 123, sliding together with the frame, 116.

The gear, 119, is fixed to a vertical shaft which is driven by any suitable gearing from the shaft, 108. The shaft, 117, with discs,

118, is driven so that it rotates one complete revolution for every two strokes of the pin box. Each disc, 118, is provided with two pawls, 124, mounted on pivots, 125. Each pawl is provided with a finger 126, and can swing a out its pivot so that the fingers, 126, are either in the inward or outward position the pawls being limited in their movement by stops, 130, and held in this position by locking detents,'132, which ress against the respective pawls by means 0 springs, 134.

Mounted upon the frame, 116, is a shutter, 140, which is so arranged that it makes contact with such of the fingers, 126, as are set in the outward position and moves them to the inward position at the commencement of each cycle.

When a in, 106, enters a perforation in a card the ell crank lever, 115, is rotated and the upper end of the lever presses against the upper end of the pawl, 124, andswings it so that the finger, 126, is moved to or set in the outward position. On the next half revolution of the shaft, 117, the pawl, 124, is brought round to make contact with the bell'crank lever, 115. If the pin, 106, enters a perforation in the card the upper end of the bell crank lever will make contact with the pawl, 124, and will restore the finger,

126, to its inner position. If, however, the.

pin, 106, does not enter a perforation, the

awl, 124, will not be restored so that the nger, 126, will remain in its outer position. The finger, 126, will then make contact with a shutter, 141, pivoted about a shaft, 142, and extending the whole length of the frame, 116, so that any finger, 126, will make contact with it.

' ended lever, 148, pivoted to the frame, 100,

The other.

cam, 158, mounted on the shaft, 108. The

end of the lever, 155, is connected to a long link, 160, which is connected to the lever, 113, for operating the card feed mechanism, 112.

The operation of the machine is as. fol-' lows If a number, for instance, 5, in one column .of the card operates a pin, 106, and in the next card the same number 5 appears in the next adjacent column, the pin, 106, will also be operated and the machine will continue to deliver cards into the receiving box, 110. If, however, the sequence of the cards is not correct, for instance, a card having 5 in one column is preceded by another card having 6 in the next column, one of the fingers, 126, will be left in its outward position and the shutter, 141, will be rocked, thus lifting up the latch, 150, and allowingFthe lever, 155, to move over to the left of igure 1. This will set the delivery mechanism, 112, in the operative position, and on rotation of the cam, 158, the link, 160, will be pushedto the right of Figure 2 and a coloured card from the magazine, 111, will be delivered into the box, 110. This coloured card will indicate that the two cards between which it is placed are not in the correct sequence.

If desired each disc may co-act with two sensing pins which may represent numbers differing by any predetermined amount and the as indicated by the same column of each card.

- In this form only one row of the sensing pins, 165, is provided in the pin box and can e mounted over any desired column of the card as described with reference to the preceding figures, the pins being the. same in number as the possible number of holes in a column. Each pin is connected to two bell crank levers, 115, as shown in Figure 4, by two connecting links, 166, 167, the two levers, however, being in engagement with two adjacent discs, 118, and not with the same disc.

The pin, 165, corresponding to the 0 perforation is connected, as illustrated dia grammatically in Figure 5 by means of the connecting link, 166, to the lever, 115, which co-acts with the disc, 118, corresponding to the 1 perforation and by the connecting link, 167 to the lever, 115', which co-acts with the disc, 118, corresponding to the 0 perforation. The pin, 165, corresponding to the 1 perforation is connected to the levers 115 and 115 corresponding to the 2 and 1 erforations, and so on.

T e pin, 165, corresponding to the 9 perforation is connected by the link, 167, to the lever, 115', co-acting with the disc corresponding to the 9 perforation and by the connecting link, 166, to an additional lever, 170-,- secured on the shaft, 168, but this lever does not co-act with any disc. The lever, 115, corresponding to the 0 perforation is also secured to the shaft, 168. so that when the pin, 165, corresponding to the 9 perforation rocks the lever, 115, it will move by means of the shaft, 168, the lever corresponding to the 0 position, which is equivalent to 10 in the unit column. The intermediate levers. 115, are loosely pivoted upon the shaft, 168. In this way the numerical sequence of the cards from 1 up to any desired number can be checked.

The discs, 118, are as before rotated so that one revolution is made for two strokes of the pin box and in operation when the sensing pin, 165, enters the hole corresponding to 5 for instance, as shown in Figure 4, one of the fingers, 126, is pushed or set to its outer position on the disc, 118. corresponding to the 6 perforation by the lever, 115. At the same time the lever, 115, restores to its inward position the finger, 126, onthe disc, 118, corresponding to the 5 perforation which was set to the outer position by the previous card. Thus, each sensing pin. restores a finger, 126, corresponding to its perforation and sets a finger, 126, corresponding to the next adjacent higher perforation. If any error occurs in the sequence of the cards one of the fingers, 126, is not restored to its inner position and the shutter, 141, is operated when a coloured card is interposed between the other cards at a point where the break in sequence occurs.

In order to pass from the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 5, to that illustrated in Figures 1 to 3,.the ends, 171, of the connecting links, 167, are disconnected from the joints, 172, on the pins, 165, and are connected to the joints, 17 3, on the pins, 165, while the upper ends, 174, of the connecting links, 166, are all moved one back so that each pin is connected to the lever, 115, of its corresponding disc.

Any other means may be employed-so that the same machine can verify the sequence of cards indicated in one or more columns.

Instead of inserting a distinguishing card 'as in the two examples given, the machine may be stopped by an interruption in sequence.

It is to be understood that according to the invention any number of" sensing pins may be used and aliy connections may be made so that either the same number occurs in the same or a different column of the succeeding card as occurred in the preceding one, or a number differing by a predetermined amount from the said preceding number. Numbers can thus be checked which are the same, or increase or decrease by a predetermined amount.

It is obvious that the sensing of the column may be equally well achieved in connection with the invention described by other than purely mechanical means, e. g. the sensmg of the holes in the card may be done electrically, pneumatically, or otherwise.

The scope of the present invention is broad enough to include any mechanism for checking the sequence in mechanical records. 7

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A record-checking machine of the kind indicated comprising in combination, means for successively feeding a pair of records to an operative position in the machine; means for successively sensing perforations in said records so fed; a settable member and means operated from said sensing means for setting said member in a certain position during said first sensing operation and returning said member to its original position during said second sensing operation if the perforations sensed on the two operations are in a predetermined relation and leaving said member in said certain position if the perforations sensed are not in such a relation.

2. A record-checking machine of the kind indicated comprising in combination, means for successively feeding a pair of records to an operative position in the machine; means for successively sensing perforations in said records so fed; a settable member and means operated from said sensing means for setting I said member in a certain position during said first sensing operation; and means also operated from said sensing means for returning to its original position said member so set during said second sensing operations, if said perforations sensed are in a predetermined relation.

3. A record-checking machine of the kind indicated comprising in combination, means for successively feeding a pair of records to an operative position in the machine; means for successively sensing perforations in said records so fed; a settable member and means operated from said sensing means for setting said member in an operative position during said first sensing operation; and error-indieating means operated during said second sensing operation by said member so set, if said member due to an error in the record is not returned to its original position during said second sensing operation.

4. The addition to the combination claimed in claim 1, of a rotatable element carrying said settable member and means for rotatin said rotatable element in synchrony with said sensing operations.

5. A record-checking machine of the kind indicated comprising in combination, means for successively feeding a pair of records to an operative position in the machine; means for successively sensing perforations in said records so fed; a plurality of settable members and means operated from said sensing means at each sensing operation for displacoriginal position to a different position and returning another of said settable members A from its displaced to its original position.

6. The combination claimed in claim 5, in which the settable member that is set in an operative position during a certain sensing operation is returned to the inoperative position during the next sensing operation while the settable member that is returned to the inoperative position during said certain sensing operation is set in the operative position during the next sensing operation.

7. The combination elalmed 1n claim 1,

having a plurality of rotatable elements each carrymg .a settable member and a common shaft on which said rotatable elements are mounted.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

RICHARD FITZ POWER.- ARTHUR THOMAS.

mg one of :aid settable members from its 

